Painful Love: Superficial Dyspareunia and Three Dimensional Transperineal Ultrasound Evaluation of Pelvic Floor Muscle in Women with Endometriosis

Abstract

We conducted an observational study between March 2015 and March 2018 in our academic center. Symptomatic, sexually active women with clinical and sonographic diagnosis of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) or isolated ovarian endometriosis were enrolled. Women were asked to rank endometriosis-related symptoms, especially superficial and deep dyspareunia. Moreover, 3D transperineal ultrasound was performed to assess the levator hiatus area (LHA) evaluating pelvic floor muscle (PFM) morphometry. Women with endometriosis seem to have a high prevalence of superficial dyspareunia and three-dimensional transperineal ultrasound seems to be a viable technique to assess PFM morphometry in these women.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest and nothing to disclose.

Table A1. Questions to assess frequency of superficial (question A) and deep (question B) dyspareunia and relative scores.